1 Chronicles 29:26-30 English Standard Version The Death of David 26 Thus David the son of Jesse reigned over all Israel. 27 The time that he reigned over Israel was forty years. He reigned seven years in Hebron and thirty-three years in Jerusalem. 28 Then he died at a good age, full of days, riches, and honor. And Solomon his son reigned in his place. 29 Now the acts of King David, from first to last, are written in the Chronicles of Samuel the seer, and in the Chronicles of Nathan the prophet, and in the Chronicles of Gad the seer, 30 with accounts of all his rule and his might and of the circumstances that came upon him and upon Israel and upon all the kingdoms of the countries. We have reached the end of the book of 1 Chronicles, and it ends with a short summary of the reign of King David (the main character in 1 Chronicles). He was king (according to God) for 40 years, but he spent 7 of those years ruling from Hebron (the capital city of the tribe of Judah). It was only after the death of Saul that all twelve tribes officially recognized David as their king, and he reigned over all of Israel from Jerusalem.
The statement about dying "at a good old age, full of days, riches and honor" lets us know that he experienced all the blessings of the Law that were promised to the people for obedience to the LORD's covenant mediated through Moses. He was "a man after God's own heart," and yet he was not perfect, and our heart longs for an even better king who could be completely just and have not just long life and prosperity, but also peace (for David's reign was filled with war on every side as the LORD used him to destroy the enemies that Israel had not destroyed in the time since Moses, Joshua and Caleb). If we want even more detail on the life of David, the people are pointed to the chronicles of Samuel and Nathan and Gad (apparently prophets and seers kept some official records of the life the king and the nation). We have some of these records in the books of 1 and 2 Samuel, but we have to trust that even though we don't have all the records of all the prophets and seers, we have everything that God intended for us to have in the biblical cannon. There is nothing missing that we need to look to add, nor is there anything there that we need to change or update. Everything we need for today is there because God provided it to us through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit--it is the very Word of God. It is our duty to read the Word and then obey what we read and lead others into obedience (just like David did). Then we too will be a man or woman after God's own heart and we might also experience the blessings of obedience, but more importantly, we will experience the new lift that comes about by repentance and being born again as part of the new and better covenant that comes through Christ. 1 Chronicles 29:22b-25 English Standard Version Solomon Anointed King And they made Solomon the son of David king the second time, and they anointed him as prince for the LORD, and Zadok as priest. 23 Then Solomon sat on the throne of the LORD as king in place of David his father. And he prospered, and all Israel obeyed him. 24 All the leaders and the mighty men, and also all the sons of King David, pledged their allegiance to King Solomon. 25 And the LORD made Solomon very great in the sight of all Israel and bestowed on him such royal majesty as had not been on any king before him in Israel. Solomon has already been coronated in front of the priests and Levites in 1 Chronicles 23:1, but this was the public coronation in front of the all the people and the officials, and even all the nations. Everybody from the entire kingdom and probably some people from other kingdoms were invited to this event.
After this, Solomon ruled as king for forty years (the last to rule over the united kingdom of Israel). God blessed him and prospered him, and all of the people obeyed him. All of the mighty men and officials that supported David gave their support to Solomon so that he became great in the eyes of all the people of Israel (and all the surrounding nations). There was no king in the history of Israel like him before him or since him, as he was more majestic than those before him or after him. However, this is only the beginning of his story. The book of 2 Chronicles will tell us much more about his life and reign. 1 Chronicles 29:10-22a English Standard Version David Prays in the Assembly 10 Therefore David blessed the LORD in the presence of all the assembly. And David said: “Blessed are you, O LORD, the God of Israel our father, forever and ever. 11 Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O LORD, and you are exalted as head above all. 12 Both riches and honor come from you, and you rule over all. In your hand are power and might, and in your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all. 13 And now we thank you, our God, and praise your glorious name. 14 “But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able thus to offer willingly? For all things come from you, and of your own have we given you. 15 For we are strangers before you and sojourners, as all our fathers were. Our days on the earth are like a shadow, and there is no abiding. 16 O LORD our God, all this abundance that we have provided for building you a house for your holy name comes from your hand and is all your own. 17 I know, my God, that you test the heart and have pleasure in uprightness. In the uprightness of my heart I have freely offered all these things, and now I have seen your people, who are present here, offering freely and joyously to you. 18 O LORD, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, our fathers, keep forever such purposes and thoughts in the hearts of your people, and direct their hearts toward you. 19 Grant to Solomon my son a whole heart that he may keep your commandments, your testimonies, and your statutes, performing all, and that he may build the palace for which I have made provision.” 20 Then David said to all the assembly, “Bless the LORD your God.” And all the assembly blessed the LORD, the God of their fathers, and bowed their heads and paid homage to the LORD and to the king. 21 And they offered sacrifices to the LORD, and on the next day offered burnt offerings to the LORD, 1,000 bulls, 1,000 rams, and 1,000 lambs, with their drink offerings, and sacrifices in abundance for all Israel. 22 And they ate and drank before the LORD on that day with great gladness. David's final act as king is to lead the congregation in worship (probably not only in prayer, but also in song). He adores the LORD for who He is, naming just some of His awe-inspiriting attributes. David then humbly admits to the LORD that he and the people are nothing compared to the LORD, and don't deserve His favor and blessing. They are simply His undeserving servants who are happy to serve their King (the LORD). David also makes reference to that fact that this is the same LORD God who cut a covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He is their God and continues to be the God of His people Isarael now and will hopefully remain the God of David's son Solomon and the people that Solomon will reign over. David prays that Solomon, and the people will have hearts to obey the Mosaic Covenant (the Law), and to obey the testimonies of the LORD and the statutes of the LORD (the written Word and the Word spoken by His prophets) so that they might have long and abundant, and peaceful lives full of the LORD's blessings.
Then the people joined David in blessing and praising the LORD, the God of Abraham, Issac, and Jacob. They bowed their heads, their knees and their hearts as they honored the LORD as their true king (notice tomorrow that Solomon will only be called a prince over the people of Israel, just like David was called, for the LORD is King and delegates authority to the one the people would call king, but He calls prince). The people sacrificed many burnt offerings with their required drink offerings--1,000 bulls and 1,000 rams and 1,000 lambs. So all the people had a feast and ate and drank before the LORD on that day and celebrated the LORD, the reign of King David, and the LORD's choosing of King Solomon. 1 Chronicles 29:1-9 English Standard Version Offerings for the Temple 29 And David the king said to all the assembly, “Solomon my son, whom alone God has chosen, is young and inexperienced, and the work is great, for the palace will not be for man but for the LORD God. 2 So I have provided for the house of my God, so far as I was able, the gold for the things of gold, the silver for the things of silver, and the bronze for the things of bronze, the iron for the things of iron, and wood for the things of wood, besides great quantities of onyx and stones for setting, antimony, colored stones, all sorts of precious stones and marble. 3 Moreover, in addition to all that I have provided for the holy house, I have a treasure of my own of gold and silver, and because of my devotion to the house of my God I give it to the house of my God: 4 3,000 talents of gold, of the gold of Ophir, and 7,000 talents of refined silver, for overlaying the walls of the house, 5 and for all the work to be done by craftsmen, gold for the things of gold and silver for the things of silver. Who then will offer willingly, consecrating himself today to the LORD?” 6 Then the leaders of fathers' houses made their freewill offerings, as did also the leaders of the tribes, the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, and the officers over the king's work. 7 They gave for the service of the house of God 5,000 talents and 10,000 darics of gold, 10,000 talents of silver, 18,000 talents of bronze and 100,000 talents of iron. 8 And whoever had precious stones gave them to the treasury of the house of the LORD, in the care of Jehiel the Gershonite. 9 Then the people rejoiced because they had given willingly, for with a whole heart they had offered freely to the LORD. David the king also rejoiced greatly. I've been making mention of this for some time, but David realized that the task given to Solomon was beyond the knowledge or wisdom that he currently had (though the LORD would grant him much wisdom later when he asked for it). With this in mind, David prepared all the raw materials and the workers for Solomon's use and direction, and David drew up all the "blueprints" for Solomon so that Solomon knew the exact measurements and weights for each of the articles of bronze, silver, and gold that were to be used in the Temple. The same goes for all the precious stones that were to be used as well as the iron, wood, and stone that was to be used. Everything was prepared for him from the items that David had in his own personal treasury as spoils of war, as money that was paid as tribute to him from other nations, and from storing up these resources from getting the best gold possible from the land of Ophir. David had planned for the house of the LORD to be overlayed in silver, but Solomon would gather so much more gold that the whole house of the LORD would be overlayed in gold, because at the time of Solomon, silver would essentially become worthless since he had so much gold. David gave all this willingly from his personal treasury and the treasury of the nation, and he called on others to consecrate themselves, give themselves to the LORD first, and then join him in making offerings for the building of the Temple.
All those that David had called--the heads of the tribes, the commanders of armies, the members of his cabinet, and his close advisors gave for the service of the LORD's house (the Temple). Their combined gifts filled in anywhere where the provisions that David made were lacking and gave Solomon the chance to also be generous with his giving (we'll see how many animals he will sacrifice and how that he will use so much of certain materials that they wouldn't even try to weigh or measure it, for it was beyond measurement). Everything necessary to complete the work that the LORD had described to David and given for Solomon to complete had been provided. Nothing was lacking, yet Solomon wanted to join in on the sacrificial giving and will do so and make the Temple even more ornate than David probably ever imagined it to be. 1 Chronicles 28:9-21 English Standard Version David's Charge to Solomon 9 “And you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father and serve him with a whole heart and with a willing mind, for the LORD searches all hearts and understands every plan and thought. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will cast you off forever. 10 Be careful now, for the LORD has chosen you to build a house for the sanctuary; be strong and do it.” 11 Then David gave Solomon his son the plan of the vestibule of the temple, and of its houses, its treasuries, its upper rooms, and its inner chambers, and of the room for the mercy seat; 12 and the plan of all that he had in mind for the courts of the house of the LORD, all the surrounding chambers, the treasuries of the house of God, and the treasuries for dedicated gifts; 13 for the divisions of the priests and of the Levites, and all the work of the service in the house of the LORD; for all the vessels for the service in the house of the LORD, 14 the weight of gold for all golden vessels for each service, the weight of silver vessels for each service, 15 the weight of the golden lampstands and their lamps, the weight of gold for each lampstand and its lamps, the weight of silver for a lampstand and its lamps, according to the use of each lampstand in the service, 16 the weight of gold for each table for the showbread, the silver for the silver tables, 17 and pure gold for the forks, the basins and the cups; for the golden bowls and the weight of each; for the silver bowls and the weight of each; 18 for the altar of incense made of refined gold, and its weight; also his plan for the golden chariot of the cherubim that spread their wings and covered the ark of the covenant of the LORD. 19 “All this he made clear to me in writing from the hand of the LORD, all the work to be done according to the plan.” 20 Then David said to Solomon his son, “Be strong and courageous and do it. Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed, for the LORD God, even my God, is with you. He will not leave you or forsake you, until all the work for the service of the house of the LORD is finished. 21 And behold the divisions of the priests and the Levites for all the service of the house of God; and with you in all the work will be every willing man who has skill for any kind of service; also the officers and all the people will be wholly at your command.” Now David turns to his son Solomon who is about to take the throne and charges him to follow the LORD and His Law in all that he does. Solomon was supposed to have his own copy of the book of Deuteronomy next to him and read it regularly and make sure that he followed it. I would certainly say that David knew the issues that would face Solomon and addressed them all in his charge.
First, David is concerned with a divided heart. Clearly this was an issue with Solomon with a heart that desired all kinds of pleasure, knowledge, worldly wisdom, riches, women, and eventually even building places of worship to other gods. Solomon is warned that he cannot depend on David's relationship with God to save him (though the LORD does save him for the sake of David), as the LORD should judge Solomon by Solomon's own actions. After this charge and telling Solomon to be careful to do everything according to the plan that David received, David turned over the plans to Solomon and entrusted the construction of the LORD's Temple to him. David had determined everything precisely and exactly and made provision so that there would be enough raw materials and workmen available. The LORD had given the vision to David but entrusted the execution to Solomon. All Solomon had to do was be obedient to the charge that the LORD gave to him through David. David ends the charge with words that sound familiar to us, as they are much like the charge given to Joshua first by Moses and then by the LORD in Deuteronomy and then in Joshua. "Be strong and courageous," and "I will never leave you or forsake you." David also makes sure that Solomon knows that he's not alone. All the Levites and all the leaders of the people are with him. They will all come together to make sure that everything is done. All Solomon needs to do concerning the Temple is give the command and they will take care of doing what needs to be done. This project would be of utmost importance, and the LORD would protect Israel from its enemies the entire time that this construction is going on. Not only during this construction period, but during the whole reign of Solomon, there will be peace, as Solomon was not to be a man of war like his father David. His hands were not to be stained with blood. That is why he was chosen to build the Temple of the LORD. We have just one more chapter in 1 Chronicles before we start 2 Chronicles. Remember this is all one book in the Hebrew Bible and this is the last book for them, so when we reach the end of 2 Chronicles, it's the way that the Old Testament ends for them--desiring a better king, the perfect king--Messiah, the Son of David. Only He will be able to take that which is going to be divided and make a new people united to Himself making no division between Jew or Greek, male or female, rich or poor. All will be made one and united through Him. Where Solomon's disobediences will bring division, Christ's obedience will make a new people that are one with Him and the LORD in a way that Israel could have never been. 1 Chronicles 28:1-8 English Standard Version David's Charge to Israel 28 David assembled at Jerusalem all the officials of Israel, the officials of the tribes, the officers of the divisions that served the king, the commanders of thousands, the commanders of hundreds, the stewards of all the property and livestock of the king and his sons, together with the palace officials, the mighty men and all the seasoned warriors. 2 Then King David rose to his feet and said: “Hear me, my brothers and my people. I had it in my heart to build a house of rest for the ark of the covenant of the LORD and for the footstool of our God, and I made preparations for building. 3 But God said to me, ‘You may not build a house for my name, for you are a man of war and have shed blood.’ 4 Yet the LORD God of Israel chose me from all my father's house to be king over Israel forever. For he chose Judah as leader, and in the house of Judah my father's house, and among my father's sons he took pleasure in me to make me king over all Israel. 5 And of all my sons (for the LORD has given me many sons) he has chosen Solomon my son to sit on the throne of the kingdom of the LORD over Israel. 6 He said to me, ‘It is Solomon your son who shall build my house and my courts, for I have chosen him to be my son, and I will be his father. 7 I will establish his kingdom forever if he continues strong in keeping my commandments and my rules, as he is today.’ 8 Now therefore in the sight of all Israel, the assembly of the LORD, and in the hearing of our God, observe and seek out all the commandments of the LORD your God, that you may possess this good land and leave it for an inheritance to your children after you forever. These are David's final words to the nation as king. He's about to turn over control of the kingdom to his son Solomon. David gathered together everyone that we just listed in the previous chapters--the cabinet members, civilian leaders, military leaders and commanders, stewards of the king's property and treasure, palace officials, mighty men, seasoned warriors--all these were invited to Jerusalem to hear David's farewell address and for the coronation of King Solomon. Everybody who was somebody was there.
David explains how his greatest desire was to build a house for the LORD--a Temple that would bear His Name and that people from around the world would come to in order to worship Him and hear His Word. However, since David was a man of war, the LORD told him that he could not build his house (though David made all the preparations for materials and manpower). Instead, that task belonged to Solomon, and David charges all the leaders of the kingdom, great and small to make this their highest priority and to use whatever means are necessary to assist Solomon in completing this project. David also makes sure everyone knows that the LORD chose Solomon not just to build the Temple, but to be David's successor and that the line of kings would come through Solomon. They are to help Solomon by themselves being careful to obey the Law and all that is written in it (David will give the same charge to Solomon) and there is an implicit charge to the leaders to hold Solomon accountable (they clearly did not follow through with this). Only if they obeyed the Law could they experience the blessings of the Law. As far as the Law is concerned, obedience brings life and rebellion leads to death. Yet there are none who obey the Law completely. We are all in rebellion against the LORD and His commands, which is why Jesus had to come and die in our place. It is only through Him that we can have abundant, eternal life. 1 Chronicles 27:16-34 English Standard Version Leaders of Tribes 16 Over the tribes of Israel, for the Reubenites, Eliezer the son of Zichri was chief officer; for the Simeonites, Shephatiah the son of Maacah; 17 for Levi, Hashabiah the son of Kemuel; for Aaron, Zadok; 18 for Judah, Elihu, one of David's brothers; for Issachar, Omri the son of Michael; 19 for Zebulun, Ishmaiah the son of Obadiah; for Naphtali, Jeremoth the son of Azriel; 20 for the Ephraimites, Hoshea the son of Azaziah; for the half-tribe of Manasseh, Joel the son of Pedaiah; 21 for the half-tribe of Manasseh in Gilead, Iddo the son of Zechariah; for Benjamin, Jaasiel the son of Abner; 22 for Dan, Azarel the son of Jeroham. These were the leaders of the tribes of Israel. 23 David did not count those below twenty years of age, for the LORD had promised to make Israel as many as the stars of heaven. 24 Joab the son of Zeruiah began to count, but did not finish. Yet wrath came upon Israel for this, and the number was not entered in the chronicles of King David. 25 Over the king's treasuries was Azmaveth the son of Adiel; and over the treasuries in the country, in the cities, in the villages, and in the towers, was Jonathan the son of Uzziah; 26 and over those who did the work of the field for tilling the soil was Ezri the son of Chelub; 27 and over the vineyards was Shimei the Ramathite; and over the produce of the vineyards for the wine cellars was Zabdi the Shiphmite. 28 Over the olive and sycamore trees in the Shephelah was Baal-hanan the Gederite; and over the stores of oil was Joash. 29 Over the herds that pastured in Sharon was Shitrai the Sharonite; over the herds in the valleys was Shaphat the son of Adlai. 30 Over the camels was Obil the Ishmaelite; and over the donkeys was Jehdeiah the Meronothite. Over the flocks was Jaziz the Hagrite. 31 All these were stewards of King David's property. 32 Jonathan, David's uncle, was a counselor, being a man of understanding and a scribe. He and Jehiel the son of Hachmoni attended the king's sons. 33 Ahithophel was the king's counselor, and Hushai the Archite was the king's friend. 34 Ahithophel was succeeded by Jehoiada the son of Benaiah, and Abiathar. Joab was commander of the king's army. David assigned local governors for each of the twelve tribes to help make sure that the needs of all the people were being met, and to bring the concerns of the people to him. The names of the governors over the twelve tribes are given here. Each tribe had a representative chosen from among their own people to represent them, and the governors over the tribe were already leaders among the people. These men helped with the census, but we are reminded that Joab did not finish counting because he knew David had sinned in taking a second census that was not commanded by the LORD. We're also reminded that only men of fighting age (20 years old and older) were counted, and we are told the reason for that--God made a promise to multiply the people, and it was not to purpose of the census to test that promise, but as a tool to help divide the fighting men into appropriate divisions with officers to oversee them and train them. Because the LORD did not order this second census, it was never officially documented (we have an accounting in Scripture, but you wouldn't find it in the official government records).
We spoke of the treasurers over the Temple previously, but there were also treasurers over the treasury of the king and the nation. Additionally, there were men in charge of the king's vineyards which produced wine and olive oil, and men in charge of the flocks and herds of the king. It took all kinds of men doing all kinds of things to allow the king to focus on governing the nation. He need not worry about anything as he had trusted men that he could delegate the everyday tasks to. The last notes here on people that King David trusted with the care of his sons. They were his most-trusted advisors. We see that his sons didn't turn out so well, even though they had a good father and good caretakers. Also listed in this last section were advisors that had no official role or title but were close friends who David trusted to give him advice and counsel. And last, but not lease, was David's friend Joab who commanded the army and was always there to defend David from any enemy--even from David's own sons, and sometimes from David himself when David was his own enemy (however, no one in this list is perfect--they all have sin-stained records that Christ had to die for). It is good to have good people surrounding you as a leader, and even better to have good friends who will stick close to you and not use and abuse you while you are in power. David would have a short list of enemies that he would ask Solomon to take care of for him (David didn't take vengeance himself, but trusted the LORD to do that for him, even if that didn't happen in David's lifetime). This ends the section on David getting things ready for King Solomon and wrapping up his reign. He's had a chance to thank everyone that he wanted to, and next time we'll see him address the nation in a farewell address and to give some final instructions to Solomon on how to rule the LORD's people. |
Daniel WestfallI will mostly use this space for recording my "journal" from my daily devotions as I hope to encourage others to read the Bible along with me and to leave a legacy for others. Archives
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